Thesis Statement

Just to keep track of my thesis development.
Below is my first draft of my Thesis statement and some photos of my thesis probe....

Travel and Identity

The word “Travel” pertains to many agendas; from pleasure to business, wanderings to migration. The idea of entering a new surrounding and leaving one’s home brings about physical displacement, and a series of mental unknowns. Because of this unfamiliarity, one’s sense of belonging is challenged, thus affecting the identity of the individual.

Over the course of history, as the speed and means of transportation multiplies and enhances; the time of discomfort is reduced but the restrictions on luggage is tightened. Individuals become limited from bringing their home in transition to a new permanence. If home represents a place of belonging, then it is also the boundaries of comfort.

Comparing to Nomadic tribes, who travel with only the essentials and necessities for survival, as technology advances, our sense of need has shifted and fused with desire. As the dependency on electronics leads to the belief of technology as a necessity, the items brought for comfort are no longer the basic necessities, but rather personal (sentimental) or financial based valuables.

When one is forced to overcome the unfamiliarity of a new setting, certain objects may generate another level of comfort permitting familiarization. Familiarization with the new cultural and social differences of the new surrounding enables adaptation, hence resolving the feelings resulted by the displacement. This discovery adds a new layer to ones identity, as the understanding of the self in the new context enhances the transition of fitting-in to a new community.

With the basic structures and basic necessities fixed and easily replaceable for individuals, how can we perhaps begin to redesign architecture which can be adaptable and personalized by the user? More importantly how can the short-lived settlement be constantly adaptable to its changing occupant, where comfort is derived only from the objects that they bring with them and the rearranging of the given?